Stephen Gallacher, European Tour player and winner of the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, will be teeing off at 10.15am in today's first round of the Open Championship. He is expecting wind, rain and a severe test of skill and patience. Here is his advice on playing great golf in shocking conditions.

1 Adjust your stance

The first thing you have to do is to move the ball back in your stance. That way you can get more of a downward blow on your ball. The steeper you are, the lower your ball flight. The lower your ball flight, the less it will be affected by the wind.

2 Stand tall

You have to stand a bit taller. Again, that helps you swing a bit steeper and promotes a lower ball flight. If you go out and play with your normal ball flight two things will happen; into the wind, your shots will balloon up into the air and come down short; or, if you've got the wind behind you, they don't stop on the green.

3 A shorter swing

Shorten your swing to about three-quarters of what it normally is. You have especially got to make sure you restrict your follow-through. The more compact everything is, the less chance you've got of being blown off course.

4 How to putt

Putting in the wind can be a nightmare but one way to help yourself is to move your weight more on to your left side. That stops your legs moving and gives you more stability. If the lower half of your body is moving during the putting stroke, then so are your arms and upper body. Then you've got no chance.